16-outro

This weekend while i was in Toronto I stayed at the Pantages Hotel which might be one of my favorite hotels in Toronto.

This Hotel is in a great location, just a a few steps away from the Eaton Centre and Young Street. I stayed in the Delux Suite, for the extra space, as you have a living room as as a separate bedroom.

The rooms are very nice and clean and tidy, it is like staying in an apartment more than a hotel. You have a full kitchen in case you rather make groceries than order room service. The fridge also comes equipped with some food and drink essentials if you don’t have time to hit the store or if you get a craving. The wood floors and shag carpet really gives it that rich look. The bed was extremely comfortable and the sheets and pillow were really soft.

What I like about the room is that it had a surplus of towels in the bathroom which is always a plus. I hate it when there is only 2 towels in the room.

The only down side of this stay was the construction going on right outside my window across the street.

I’ve stayed at the Pantages many times and I have to say I love it! It is also home to a lot of celebrities when they are in town for the weekend.

Pantages Hotel and SPA

200 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1V8, Canada

122 Rooms

Style: BOUTIQUE APARTMENT

Atmosphere: Quiet

Average room price: $175/Night

Marcus Troy Rating: 8/10

I decided to start reviewing clubs because I think people need to know what’s good in the club world. I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about Santos night club, so I decided to check it out while I was in NYC. I wasn’t sure what night was supposed to be the popping night hosted by the downtown sweetheart Va$htie but I decided to roll trough anyway where Questlove was the guest DJ.

I showed up at the club 2 deep and the line was “dumb long” The guest list line was much shorter and the good dude Hawaii Mike got me on Vashtie’s guest list so I knew we were going to be good.

My review in point form:

Club: Santos

Location: New York City, Lafayette and Canal

Day: Friday Night the 17th of April

Guest DJ: Questlove from the Roots

MC: Consequence

Guest: Drake

Host: Vashtie & Oscar

- Bouncers were friendly and helpful
- The lines get super crazy at 11:30 so get there early
- The line was good mix of guys and girls
- Chad was the guest list door man and he was mad chill.
- No I’d and you don’t get in/ $15 to get in if you have no connections
- Women get preferred treatment
- Drinks are expensive like 10 bucks a drink
- The sound system  pounds clear and crispy
- The crowd actually dances
- Signs that are taped around the club are pretty entertaining.
- The bar tenders are cool
- The host Vashtie is super hot
- There is no reception for blackberrys or cells so you won’t see guys profiling like they getting a booty call or talking on the phone in the club.
- No dress code
- They check you for weapons pretty lightly
- The vibe is overall very chill
- The decor is ok, there is a disco ball spinning which is kind of cheese.
- The music was funk and soul pretty dope

* My Stupid Moment
So we arrived at the club around 11:30 and the line was so long that we thought that inside must be jumping. The bouncer told us to walk downstairs and when we got there the club seemed kind of small and there were not a lot of people there. We headed to the bar to get a couple of drinks and to chill out to the vibes. We kept seeing people walk in the club and it looked liked they were leaving, I kept asking my homie, where is everyone going? He says maybe they are leaving because no one is here yet! I said isn’t Questlove suppose to be playing? I thought it was early and he was going to show up at 2. The problem was that Questlove was twittering all the songs he was playing before we got to the club, so I was wondering if we missed him. About 30-45 min pass by and the club was not jumping the way I expected it too, so I decided to go and ask the bouncer if there was another room? WOW I felt so stupid! As we walked up to the top floor, is was like another world!!!! Mad girls and Questlove was killing the music…The one thing that made me question myself, was when I saw Elliott Wilson from Rap Radar walk in and make his way trough a door that lead somewhere else so I went to investigate and it was the top floor of the club. SO MAKE SURE YOU GO TO THE OTHER ROOM or you might not enjoy your Santos experience.
* The rumblings around town

I heard from multiple people and even overheard it at the ball game that Diddy (puff Daddy) was attracting the wrong crowd at Santos and that it was messing the night up. I think you guys should judge that for yourself.

I had a great time!

Club Rating (based on 1 night)

Ease of Entry (with guest list): 10/10

Bouncers: 8/10

Decor: 5/10

Crowd: 7/10

Women: 8/10

Drinks: 8/10

Music: 10/10

Vibe: 9/10

Security: 5/10

Celebrity Status: 10/10

Overall Rating: 8/10

I recommend this club on a Friday night in NYC!

Thanks Vashtie for the guest list.

Whenever I visit Vancouver, I stay at Le Soleil hotel, last week I went down for the Junos and decided to take some pictures and review it for you guys.

Pros:
- Great location: within walking distance to many attractions and shopping areas.
- Clean (as in: spotless).
- Elegant.
- Soundproof
- Excellent room service: the breakfast came quick and was excellent!
- Helpful front desk staff: they were knowledgeable about all the stores and surronding restaurants. It really makes a difference. They were all great, ask for Bret (he has an British accent)
- Free high-speed internet
- Fresh apple and a bottles of water waiting at the front desk at all times
- Valet Parking

Cons:
- Surrounded by building so the views aren’t the best.

Good things to know:
- There is no swimming pool or exercise room on the premise. The Y is literally next door, and you can use their facilities if you wish, but you have to pay extra. The rates were very reasonable, at the time of our stay.
- The Hotel is attached to a pretty good steakhouse named The Keg.

Le Soleil Hotel

567 Hornby St, Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 2E8, Canada

122 Rooms

Style: Elegant Vintage

Atmosphere: Quiet

Average room price: $175/Night

Marcus Troy Rating: 8/10

Where to begin? I first heard Biggie when my father played me Juicy. He told me with quite certainty that the Notorious B.I.G also know as Biggie Smalls was going to be BIG (pun intended) You see my father was a pioneer of sorts in the Canadian music scene and had a great ear for music and was extremely knowledgeable on the art, so when he played songs for me I listened. I immediately took a liking to BIG and his music and started following his career. My father used to stress the fact that BIG’s delivery was like no other rappers and his use of metaphors was pretty incredible and that he would change hip-hop forever.

The movie starts off on the tragic night of March 9th 1997 when Christopher Wallace (played by Jamal Woolard) was gun down by an unknown assailant. The movie is a journey of the life of BIG and touching a bit on all the know aspects of his life. I don’t think the movie depicted any new information that was not known to the public.

Jamal Woolard added an additional 50 pounds to his already large frame, making him look even more like Biggie than he already did. Not only did Jamal resemble Biggie’s physical appearance, he also walked the same path as he did as a child, dealing drugs and getting in lots of trouble. I think Jamal Woolard also know as Gravy really nailed BIG mannerism and even breathing patterns. Some scenes from the movie were so nostalgic and actually gave me shivers as times as the realness.

Other people portrayed in the film that surrounded Biggie’s life, Voletta Wallace, Puff Daddy, Lil’ Kim, Lil Cease, and Damion ‘D-Roc’ Butler. I think the actress that played Lil Kim was bang on, I don’t feel that Derek Luke portrayed Puffy correctly, I felt at times that there was some over acting but I have to admit his dance moves were on point. Tupac was also portrayed in the movie by Anthony Mackie, which I don’t think was an accurate depiction. I felt they made Tupac look very amateurish and did not live up to the fame and realer than life persona he often portrayed. I don’t see Lil Cease being happy about the way he was portrayed in the film. I really enjoyed seeing Lil Kim interaction with Biggie and I think Angela Basset did a great job.

This epic film was directed by George Tillman Jr., NOTORIOUS brings light to Biggie’s struggle from the Brooklyn drug world, to his rise to rap fame, to the East Coast Vs. West Coast rap/gang feud, and his untimely death.

I believe that NOTORIOUS was a overall a great depiction of Christopher’s Wallace’s life and it might get better reception than Eminem’s 8 mile and 50′s Get rich or die trying. The movie touched me in so many ways and also made me reflect on the importance of life and cherishing the love ones around you. The real live footage from his funeral in Brooklyn was also a great added touched to the film. I remember where I was when Biggie Smalls the greatest rapper of all times died, do you?

Rating: 8/10

I did a video review of the hotel but left my camera on fast speed and it recorded it too fast, so you will have to settle with my description.

The Night, a Boutique hotel located between 6th and 7th Avenues in heart of Theater District -

The Room design is black, gray and ultra modern.The bed is extremely comfy and low to the ground. The room has an office feel to it, which I like. It has a great desk and leather business chair for late nights working on the laptop.

The television is a  32-40 inch Panasonic mounted to the wall.

Room service was quick and the food (burger and fries) was quite tasty.

The staff was very polite and made my stay very enjoyable. I returned to my room and had a complimentary bottle of wine! I don’t think this would happen for everyone excepting returning guest. ( In no way did the amazing white wine influence this review)

The one thing I really like about the Night hotel is the fact that they give you business cards with your name on it and the Hotel’s information. So if you prefer to give someone your “Hotel” business card instead of your personal business card,  its perfect.

The bathroom did take getting used to though, the floor would always get wet because of the design. (maybe I don’t know how to take showers) The showerhead was great and the soap smelled amazing.

The Internet is kind of expensive, its $10 a day which most hotels offer it free of charge

I did find they took a while before they did the house cleaning, at 2 o’clock my room still was not cleaned.

The price varies per night, but the average was about $300 a night.

One of the nights a lady came by with  chocolate and the forecast for the week, which I thought was pretty cool.

Night Hotel

132 West 45th Street

New York , NY, USA

72 Rooms

Style: Modern Design

Atmosphere: Lively

Marcus Troy Rating:  8/10

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